342 EASTERN ETHIOPIA xxvm 



material dries it hardens like cement. There are many 

 facts to be ascertained in regard to the process by 

 which the hen is immured. It is illustrated by an 

 actual specimen of the Crowned Hornbill, in the 

 admirable Nesting Series in the Natural History 

 Museum, London. Dr. Schonland, who obtained the 

 specimen, states that this bird moults before being 



The Ground Hornbill (Bucorni#) has modified feathers, like 

 lashes, on its eyelids, which give this bird a weird 

 human expression, especially when screwing up its 

 eyelids as it quizzes an onlooker. 



imprisoned, and not only sheds the short feathers, but 

 the quills of the wings and tail. This curious habit of 

 immuring the sitting hen has been observed of horn- 

 bills in India (Tickell) and in Burma (Mason) as well 

 as by Livingstone in Africa. The observations in 

 regard to the African species have been confirmed by 

 Schonland, and for the Asian species by Wallace in 

 Sumatra. It has been suggested that the object in 

 immuring the hen during incubation is to protect her 

 from the attacks of monkeys and other enemies. 



